Spears was developed by Patrick Blute, a 23-year-old Columbia University graduate, who debuted the show in April 2012 at the college to a sold-out crowd.

“These are Britney’s lyrics. These are Jesus Christ’s images. The Britney Spears you see is not Britney Spears. Remember that,” Blute writes on the show’s website. “The Jesus Christ you read is not Jesus Christ. These are manifestations. Accounts through the media, through the words of followers, of friends, of foes, of villains, of heroes, of liars, of biases.”